My inspiration for this 1/48 scale Sabre was the little old 1/72 scale Heller
Sabre kit that I had completed in the early 80's using the Superscale markings
for the 391st FBS. These markings have always been a favourite of
mine.

Superscale' 1/48 scale decals were originally designed for the old Monogram
kit. However, when the new 1/48 scale Hasegawa Sabre hit the hobby store shelves
it re-ignited the fire. I had to build it.

Unfortunately, my old 1/72 scale kit is no longer with us. The markings had
gone yellow with age anyhow, due to the enamel clear coat.

I wanted to replace it.

Construction

Cockpit

The cockpit for this Sabre was originally developed from the KMC cockpit set
which was extensively modified as the original according to my research was not
a true F-86F cockpit.

By using a modified Verlinden instrument panel and gun sight the cockpit
better resembled the F-model than using the original kit items. The seat and
cockpit was then painted to match the color plates from the book "Fighting
Colors" F-86 Sabre in Color By Larry Davis, a Squadron / Signal
publication.

Fuselage

An area of concern on the Hasegawa kit was the .50 cal openings in the side
of the fuselage. Hasegawa's moldings enable one to see right through to
the other side of the fuselage and the other holes on that side of the kit. This
would not do! This problem required extensive reworking with brass barrels in an
attempt to hide the holes in the fuselage. The ammunition bay was cut open and
the resin replacement items from Teknics was then installed.

The large air intake supplied in the kit had extensive molding release holes
and seams down its length; but KMC came to the rescue with a resin nose intake
which was fitted to the kit. A tail pipe was fashioned from plastic tube and was
installed when the fuselage was fitted together.

Wings

The 1/48 Hasegawa Sabre kit did not go together as well as I had hoped.

The under-wing joint between the fuselage and lower wing section was
difficult to fit correctly and required extensive sanding and re-scribing. The
small wing fences were replaced with 10- thou plastic card and fitted into small
cuts in the wing leading edges. The flaps were cut & dropped using the KMC
replacements and the rear elevators were also repositioned.

Undercarriage

The undercarriage was molded incorrectly by Hasegawa, particularly the nose
wheel leg area. A new nose wheel leg was constructed using brass rod and fitted
to the rest of the nose wheel mechanism.

The main wheel legs remained out of the box but were fitted with hydraulic
brake lines out of copper wire to give it a more scale appearance. The kit's
wheels were replaced by the resin items from True Details using the early
version of the Sabre wheel set. This completed the landing gear.

Painting
and Decals

:

The original markings for this F-86F (52-4863) of the 391st FBS, 366th FBW
Nellis AFB 1956 gunnery meet was discovered in the book "Fighting
Colors" F-86 Sabre in Color By Larry Davis a Squadron / Signal publication.
Originally, the markings were found on Superscale sheet 48-115 which was the
scaled up version of their 1/72 scale sheet.

A word of warning - be prepared to do some fitting on the decals especially
around the drop tanks, nose and tail fin areas.

The natural metal finish commenced with a trial of Pollyscale metal paints.
This was a big mistake.

When dry, the paint lifted under the masking tape which was used to provide
the different shades of metal panels on the model aircraft. Testors Metalizer
was used as a replacement to help hide the lifting Polly scale paint. The
overall finish that I wanted was not a pristine Sabre but one that looked in
service; so as not to look like a little toy!

The Bob Dorr's book on the F-86 Sabre, published by Motorbooks, provided
excellent color references for the natural metal finish. The worn appearance was
achieved by using white oil paint thinned by turpentine and traced in the panel
lines with a 000 paint brush. The overall finish was very different to previous
natural metal finishes that I had attempted. A final spray of Future clear coat
and the job was complete!

The pilot figure in the model photos was resin from Reheat products. The head
on the Reheat figure was not good and a with a replacement head from an old
Monogram figure was used. The pilot figure was then painted to match the dress
of a late 50's pilot uniform as found in the F-86D section of the Squadron book.

Conclusion

This Sabre started out as a small project as it was hoped that the new
Hasegawa kit would fall together. Regrettably, it did not!

Be prepared to do a lot of test fitting before you actually glue the kit
parts. Along with the resin replacement sets from KMC, True Details, Verlinden
and Teknics I can recommend the Hasegawa kit as the basis for any 1/48 F-86F
Sabre project.

It is hoped that the markings for this aircraft from Superscale are still
around and can be purchased at your local hobby store or mail order outlet.

Additional
Images

Click the thumbnails below to
view images full-sized.
Click the "Back" arrow on your browser to return to this page.